Black Balloon
by Spanish Ninja Sneasel
Summary: (Complete) A bold step forward backfires on both of them, and they discover what has been right in front of them for so long. Yaoi warning.
1. Chapter One

Author's notes: This story's actually a lot like a mix of two ideas that I had before... So if I write those stories, I'll have to alter them so I don't have three fics that are alike. ^^; But anyway, if you have the song "Black Balloon" by the Goo Goo Dolls, or the song "Hopeless" by Train, I recommend listening to it while reading this. ^^  
  
There he was, sitting at the window of our bunk, just as I thought he would be. I closed the door behind me, and he made no outer notice of my presence. He held his face up with his chin in his palm. His blank cerulean eyes were lost in the darkness on the other side of the glass. I took a step closer to him.  
  
"Roy?" I called to him softly. "Are you all right?"  
  
He didn't answer me, and still acted as if I wasn't there. He didn't really need to tell me; I already knew that he wasn't. I didn't see what happened myself, but it was the talk among the other fighters that told me. I tilted my head slightly and examined his face further. His features were expressionless, but I knew that it didn't show his inner emotions. His skin was flushed and his eyes looked sore.  
  
I placed my hands behind my back and took another step. "Have you been crying?"  
  
"Of course not," he hissed, still not moving. That was the first thing he had done to acknowledge me. I knew it would get a response; Roy was always trying to maintain an air of strength and maturity. I guessed that it had to do with the way the other fighters picked on his youthful appearance, among other things. But not only did I know that it would get an answer; I also knew that he was lying.  
  
Roy's personal life was a mystery to the Smash Brothers; he kept to himself most of the time, and he rarely left the dorm for anything that wasn't essential. He was an excellent fighter, and that's all anyone really knew about him. But if there was one person who knew him best, it was me. Maybe it was because I shared a room with him, and that was where he spent all of his leisure time. I didn't have much more information about him than the other fighters, but I had a way of reading him, through his actions and expressions. He spent a lot of his time at that window. Perhaps he was longing for something from it... From the other side. What that was, I couldn't say. That mysterious aura that he held... It intrigued me. I wanted just a chance to break the shield that he hid behind and have him really talk to me... Even if it was only once, I wanted him to know that I was there, and that he wasn't just another opponent to me.  
  
Of course, apparently part of his shield had already been shattered. And that was why I needed to talk to him. I knew that it would do no good to approach him directly, so I tried to get around his facade and find a way to him. I sat down in the chair beside the window, since he was kneeling on the floor. "I head what happened."  
  
He let out a scoff, still fixed on the night beyond him. I'm sure everyone has by now. he replied flatly. "I'm the laugh of the whole place."  
  
"But," I cleared my throat, positioning myself in the seat, "it wasn't meant to be funny, was it?"  
  
He finally pulled his eyes away from the window and looked toward me. His eyes stayed on mine for a few moments; I kept my view on him, and was certain that the tone on my face was far from hostile. He sighed and closed his eyes. "I knew it was a bad idea to tell him. I knew it all along. But something in my mind made me," he shook his head and laughed bitterly. "I mean, why would he give a damn about me, anyway?"  
  
"Why not?" I responded, knowing that he'd look right past the hidden implication.  
  
He glared at me. "They all think I'm a joke as it is."  
  
"You're not a joke," I insisted, my voice almost stern.  
  
He looked back at me as if I was insane. "I scared him, Marth. I scared him I may as well not be human to him," he closed his eyes again and turned his head away. He inhaled sharply, and it seemed as if he was fighting back tears.  
  
I wanted to console him. I wanted him to know that I didn't believe that of him, even if everyone else did. But I knew better than to do anything, and I didn't want to make him any more uncomfortable than he already was. So I didn't even show any reaction to his struggle not to let me see him cry. But I still tried to think of something fitting to say to him, anyway. "You know, that could just mean that Link isn't gay. And I don't think any of us knew that you are."  
  
"Yeah, well, they all know now," his eyes opened his eyes and stared back at the window. "That gives them another reason to tear into me," he mumbled, probably thinking that I couldn't hear him.  
  
Unfortunately, he was right. When I heard about his confession to Link, it started when I overheard Falco and Peach, mocking him for just that. Once they told me what it was about, that was when I decided that I should try to talk to him.  
  
"I don't see anything wrong with it," I stated quietly.  
  
He turned back to me. The tone of my voice probably told him why I didn't think it was a bad thing. I was silently thankful that I didn't express my sexuality in the same manner that he had done it in. Then again, he was the one that they all enjoyed teasing to begin with.  
  
After he looked back to the window, silence filled the room for a while. I studied his somber face, wondering what was going through his mind. Apparently, he didn't mind what I had subtly told him. Still I tried to tell what he was thinking about, until he finally spoke again. "I'll probably just leave," he uttered with a small sigh. "I'm not wanted around here, anyway."  
  
The calm, collected front I had been putting on was destroyed with those words. I felt a bit of panic rise, and I replied once I could manage myself to speak normally. "You can't leave."  
  
"Why?" his voice was hard as he stared blankly.  
  
"I don't want you to. You're one of the only people around here that I actually enjoy being with," I explained. It was the only part of honest answer that I felt I could tell him.  
  
"You'll survive," he muttered without moving his eyes.  
  
My panic grew. I couldn't watch him leave... Not after I had just cracked the shield. And with so much that I hadn't told him. With that thought, I wondered if maybe I was already in the moment to do so. "Now or never," I sighed to myself.  
  
That apparently got his attention, because he glanced to me. Before he could question me, I allowed my emotions to take control of my mind, and took his face into my hands, pressing my lips against his. I felt him mumble against my lips, but I continued to kiss him for another few seconds.  
  
When I pulled away, he didn't say a word; the astonished and confused look on his face said enough. My eyes met his for a moment. With the fading of my stone facade, my calm expression disappeared. My exposed, longing eyes lingered on his. But my common sense quickly took over again, and I realized that I had just done what he wanted not from me, but from Link. Perhaps not anymore, after the way Link had crushed him, but I knew that he didn't want it from me.  
  
Learning about Roy would be a journey, which I was completely willing to take. But knowing that I wasn't desired to do so, I wouldn't press him to understand or accept me. Perhaps he was one thing that was just too good for me... And he would never realize how much he really meant. I raised to my feet without another word, and I headed back to the door. 


	2. Chapter Two

Author's notes: This was actually going to be a short story; I was going to leave it as it was, but a couple of people said I should continue, and I have more ideas for it, so it's going to be a few chapters long. The chapters will be fairly short, as will the story itself. The only thing is that I think with the new content, I'll have to change the rating from PG to PG-13.  
__ __ __  
  
My eyes got bored with the view of the ceiling of the lounge and closed; my mind drifted lazily and I didn't want to think about anything anymore. He was gone, and I didn't stop him. No matter how much I tried to block it out, my thoughts kept returning to those ideas... Maybe if I had stayed instead of running away after I kissed him... Maybe if I came back... Maybe if I didn't kiss him at all. Maybe if I didn't take off my mask and continued as if I wasn't phased by what he said... Maybe he would have stayed. But I didn't do any of that. I made those mistakes, and I had to pay for them.  
  
I had been on the couch in the lounge ever since I left the dorm. I set up for the night there, but I didn't sleep. And so I saw Roy leave in the middle of the night. I pretended to be asleep so he wouldn't notice me, but he seemed to, anyway. He stopped for a moment in front of the couch... I closed my eyes when he came close, so I didn't know if he did anything or not. I watched as he walked out the front door, though, knowing that it would be the last time I saw him.  
  
It had been almost twenty-four hours since the incident; it was dark out and I hadn't done a thing all day, spare listening to the rain hit the roof above me. I decided that if I wanted to take my mind off of Roy, I should check out the battles that were going on. I withdrew myself from any battles that day, so why not see who took my place?  
  
I got onto my feet for the first time in hours and headed through the empty building; everyone must have been at the battlefields. I went through the housing part of the building and into to arena. I could already hear shouts of the combatants and the other fighters, cheering them on. I entered the stands of the Jungle Japes replica, where Fox was facing Mewtwo. An interesting match, but it just didn't seem to interest me.  
  
I stepped up to the small glass room that stood at the edge of the stage, where Mario, the leader of the organization, looked through a handful of papers. He heard me enter, and looked up from his papers. "Oh, I see you're up and about. Are you feeling okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm all right," I mumbled in reply. "I guess I just wasn't feeling good earlier. What are you doing?"  
  
"Well," he muttered, pulling his hat off and scratching the top of his head and searching through the papers again. "I'm trying to arrange the next two battles, but one of the combatants seems to be missing," he looked back to me. "You haven't seen Roy anywhere, have you?"  
  
I closed my eyes and let out a small sigh. I had hoped he wouldn't mention him, but I guessed that I was probably the only one who knew what happened. "You should just take him off the list," I exhaled, then opened my eyes to him. "He's gone. He left last night."  
  
A puzzled look crossed Mario's face. "I'm afraid that's impossible."  
  
"What do you mean?" I raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Well, no one can leave the grounds without clearance, and I'm the only one who can open the gates. There's no other way to exit. He must still be on the grounds somewhere."  
  
Those words caught my attention, causing me to perk my head up. "So you're saying he's still here?"  
  
"He has to be," he concluded. "I can understand why he would try to leave after what happened yesterday. Poor kid... I just hope he didn't go and do something stupid," he shuffled back through his papers, seemingly uninterested in the conversation anymore.  
  
His last statement hit me harder than what he had said before. I hadn't considered that he may have done something to himself... I shook my head, trying not to get lost in my thoughts, and I hurried from the arena and headed out the back doors. If he left the building but couldn't leave the premises, he was probably in the courtyard somewhere. The rain was pouring down and it was too dark to see much, but I had to find him nonetheless.  
  
I ran through the courtyard and began calling his name, hoping for any sort of response but also knowing that I wouldn't get one, even if he could hear me. The rain beat down on me, stinging as it hit my face, but I ignored it and pressed on. I came across one area that I hadn't yet seen; a small collection of bushes and a large tree looming over them. If he was out there at all, he would probably be in there.  
  
I knelt down and made my way through the tangled, wet brush, searching for some sort of opening where he may be. After searching enough, I found a patch of grass between the bushes. I pushed the branches in front of me to the side and tried to see anything that may be in that opening. But it wasn't anything I saw that caught my attention first; it was the heavy, quavering breathing that filled my ears. I turned my eyes to the source, and saw him leaning against the brush, holding himself and trembling.  
  
My eyes grew soft and sympathetic upon seeing this. I crawled down into the patch of grass beside him, but he didn't seem to notice. "Roy..." I whispered to him, getting his attention. He lifted his head and peered through the mess of wet hair that hung over his eyes. His face was pale, and he looked almost terrified. I didn't know what had made him that way, but the thankful look in his eyes made me forget about it. He seemed relieved, almost happy, to see me there. That was the most emotion I had ever seen from him.  
  
His lips shivered, as if he was trying to say something, but nothing came out. After a few seconds, he almost collapsed against me, pressing his fingers into my tunic and burying his face in my shoulder. I was taken aback slightly by his affection, but didn't bother asking questions and embraced him, offering him at least some sort of support. I reached my arms around him and allowed him to lean on me, forcing myself not to focus on the soft skin of his arm that was less than inches away from my lips. "I couldn't do it," he whispered, his voice shaking violently.  
  
"Couldn't do what?" I questioned, slightly confused. He didn't answer me; he just continued trembling. "Couldn't do what, Roy?" I was becoming more worried as to what he meant. He burrowed his face farther into my shoulder, seemingly trying not to cry. I rubbed my hand over the back of his neck to comfort him. But when I reached farther to his throat, I felt something over his skin that was thicker than rain water. I lifted my fingers and tried to focus my eyes through the dark. As the rain washed over the substance, I was able to determine that it could only be one thing: blood. I finally realized what he meant when he said he couldn't do it. I shut my eyes and had to stop myself from crying upon that realization. I placed my hand back onto his neck and held him tighter. "Oh God, Roy..." 


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: The lyrics belong to Lifehouse. Not me. Get it? Good.  
  
"Cause I am hanging on every word you say, and  
Even if you don't want to speak tonight, that's all right  
All right with me  
Cause I want nothing more than  
To stand outside your door  
And listen to you breathing  
That's where I wanna be."  
  
  
Examining the door frames proved to be the only way to occupy myself as I walked around the dorm, waiting for Roy to finish changing in the bathroom. I didn't care much about the dirty white wood around the closet door, but I was trying to take my mind off of how anxious I was.  
  
When the bathroom door finally creaked open, he slinked out in a faded white bathrobe. I noticed that his hair was still wet, and gauze was wrapped around his throat. I closed my eyes for a moment; I still couldn't get over what he had done to himself. Looking back to him, I could see that his eyes were set low; probably trying not to look at me. He glanced up at me, and I took that opportunity to gesture toward one of the beds, offering him a seat. He briefly put on a fake smile--or the closest he could manage--and slowly dragged himself toward the center of the room and onto the side of the bed. I cautiously made my way to the bed myself, ready to back off at any sign that he didn't want me near him. But he didn't seem to mind, so I sat down next to him.  
  
"Are you all right?" I asked softly. In response, he simply nodded and continued examining his hands. Of course, I knew that wasn't his real answer. "Hey," I placed one hand on the side of his face, and he finally looked up at me. "Are you all right," I repeated, putting nothing but my concern into my voice.  
  
His eyes met mind for a moment, until he sighed and turned his head. "I don't know," he muttered.  
  
"Why did you do that, Roy?" I continued, finally putting my worry and fear into my words. "I just don't understand. I know you're going through a hard time at this place, but I didn't think you'd cut your own throat."  
  
My words may have been too much, I thought, when he dropped his head and his breath began to quaver.  
  
"I know this is upsetting you, and I'm sorry... But don't you realize how much it upset me when you did that?"  
  
"I'm sorry," he whispered. He didn't seem to mean it; maybe he just wanted me to stop. I exhaled and dropped my shoulders, and then looked back to him. He had his head bowed, and through the strands of auburn hair that hung over his face, I could see that his eyes were barely open. He looked like he was ready to cry, but just couldn't manage the energy to do so. It was hard to believe that the fighter of stone that I knew in the arena was so sensitive off the field. He looked so worn... So fragile. As if his vulnerable personality and his soft, yet shivering pale skin could be broken by the slightest push. He could break at any moment.  
  
No... He was already broken.  
  
I realized that he was too weak for what I was giving him at that moment. At that time, the best thing I could do was to support him; give him someone to fall back on so that he could regain his strength. I brushed back a strand of hair from his face and placed a hand onto his skin. He glanced back up at me as I ran my fingers across his face, taking in the soft feeling of his skin... And silently thanking the gods that he was still breathing.  
  
"Why do you keep doing that?" he mumbled, putting a hand over my and stopping my movement.  
  
Upon his question, I realized just what I was doing, and pulled my hand away. "What do you mean?"  
  
He let out a half-scoff, half-laugh. "You don't think I forgot that you kissed me yesterday..."  
  
I bit my lower lip and sighed. Part of me was glad that he thought enough of it to mention it again, but most of me wished that by some strange turn of events, he did. But all of my longed for the chance to do it again...  
  
"Marth?" he turned his head to the side and put me back into reality. "Please tell me."  
  
I sighed again, heavier than before. "I don't think I should tell you when you're like this."  
  
"Why?" his voice was soft and weak. It almost seemed as if he wanted to know to make him feel better... The answer was obvious, but maybe he just needed to hear someone say they cared about him. But that didn't make it any easier to say... "Well, if you don't want to tell me, I suppose it's all right," he closed his eyes and turned his head, "I know the answer, anyway."  
  
"Oh, really?"  
  
He looked back to me. "You love me."  
  
"What?!" I immediately spat. I could feel myself turn red, although I tried to hide my embarrassment.  
  
"Am I right?"  
  
"Well," I cleared my throat and tried to keep clam, "I don't know about the way you put it--"  
  
"I can tell, Marth," he half smiled. That was the most positive think I had gotten out of him all night. I told myself that it would be best not to lie.  
  
"How long have you known this?" I asked, a little embarrassed to make eye contact. But still I ended up looking at him.  
  
He closed his eyes for a moment. "Since you came back for me."  
  
Somehow, his answer interested me, and I turned to face him. I didn't say anything; the questioning look on my face said enough.  
  
"When I heard you calling to me, I swore it was my imagination. But then you found me... And I realized that you really did care about me," he ran his hand across my face, "and that kiss really did mean something."  
  
I thought it was safe to assume by his words and gestured that it would be okay to try that again, but he beat me to it. Before I could lean in and kiss him, his lips were pressed against my own. I wasn't sure how to react to his unexpected action, but I ended up kissing him as well. I slid my fingers into his damp hair and took in the feel of being close to him. He leaned closer, pressing his chest against my own and pushing me back. I invited his actions wholly, brushing a hand across his shoulders.  
  
He was already broken...  
  
But maybe I could help to put him back together. 


	4. "Black Balloon"

I've come to a decision. I'm ending Black Balloon where it is, as three chapters. I think where the third chapter ends is a good way to close it. Also, I was planning to make five chapters, but my ideas for the last two would involve a different POV and also changing from past tense to present tense. I may or may not write a sequel. Until I figure that out, I leave you with the first good multi-chapter story I've ever completed, and the lyrics to the song that represen this fic.  
  
__ __ __  
  
Baby's black balloon makes her fly  
I almost fell into that hole in your life  
You're never thinking about tomorrow  
Cause you were the same as me  
But on your knees  
  
A thousand other boys could never reach you  
How could I have been the one?  
I saw the world spin beneath you  
And scatter like ice from the spoon  
That was your womb  
  
Coming down, the world turned over  
And angels fall without you there  
And I go on as you get colder  
Or are you someone's prayer?  
  
You know the lies they always told you  
And the love you never knew  
Well, those are the things they never showed you  
That swallowed the light from the sun  
Inside your room  
  
I'm coming down, the world turned over  
And angels fall without you there  
And I go on as you get colder  
Or are you someone's prayer?  
  
And there's no time left for losing  
When you stand, they fall  
  
Coming down, the world turned over  
And angels fall without you there  
And I go on as you get colder  
All because I'm...  
  
Coming down, the years turned over  
And angels fall without you there  
And I go on, now I'll lead you home, and  
All because I'm...  
  
I'll become  
What you became to me.  
  
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I want to thank everyone who's followed this fic, and everyone's who supported me and my writing. This story means a lot to me, and I hope I could have made some sort of impact on my readers. Once again, thank you all.  
  
Disclaimer: The lyrics belong to the Goo Goo Dolls. Their song, not mine. My fic, not theirs. 


End file.
